Neonatal Intensive Care Summer 2025:
Reducing Pain in the NICU: A Quality Improvement Initiative

As neonatal medicine advances and the viability of “micropreemie” babies increases, care teams face a difficult balance: life-saving intervention vs. long-term developmental impact.

In this whitepaper, the NICU team at Woman’s Hospital (Baton Rouge, LA) shares how they:

  • Reduced blood gas draws by over 50% in extremely premature infants
  • Built clinical trust in tcPCO₂ monitoring across RT and nursing teams
  • Standardized CO₂ monitoring protocols to limit noxious stimuli
  • Empowered staff to use real-time, noninvasive CO₂ data for clinical decision-making

With transcutaneous CO₂ monitoring, they achieved measurable improvements in patient comfort and safety — while maintaining visibility into these patient’s constantly changing ventilation status.

transcutaneous monitoring in the NICU: clinical utility and impact

Neonatal Intensive Care Summer 2025:
Reducing Pain in the NICU: A Quality Improvement Initiative

As neonatal medicine advances and the viability of “micropreemie” babies increases, care teams face a difficult balance: life-saving intervention vs. long-term developmental impact.

In this whitepaper, the NICU team at Woman’s Hospital (Baton Rouge, LA) shares how they:

  • Reduced blood gas draws by over 50% in extremely premature infants
  • Built clinical trust in tcPCO₂ monitoring across RT and nursing teams
  • Standardized CO₂ monitoring protocols to limit noxious stimuli
  • Empowered staff to use real-time, noninvasive CO₂ data for clinical decision-making

With transcutaneous CO₂ monitoring, they achieved measurable improvements in patient comfort and safety — while maintaining visibility into these patient’s constantly changing ventilation status.

Meet the tCOM+

Developed with care, designed for confidence.

The tCOM+ offers continuous monitoring of tcPCO2, SpO2, and PR with a sleek new look and feel. This latest model includes significant software advances that improve workflow for providers, while continuing to support reduced blood draws and proactive ventilator management across care areas.

tCOM-device-angled

Stay up-to-date with Sentec


Related Posts

  • Whitepaper

    Reducing Iatrogenic Blood Loss in the NICU and the Role of Noninvasive CO2 Monitoring

    Frequent blood draws can contribute significantly to iatrogenic blood loss and neonatal anemia in the NICU. Learn how transcutaneous CO₂ monitoring and other blood management strategies can help reduce phlebotomy-related blood loss while supporting safe respiratory care.

  • Sentec Article

    Building Trust in New Technology: One NICU’s Experience with tCOM

    Discover how Woman's Hospital rebuilt trust in transcutaneous CO₂ monitoring and cut NICU blood gas draws by 50% through education and quality improvement.

  • Whitepaper

    The Downsides & Limitations of Neonatal Blood Sampling

    Discover the hidden costs of neonatal blood sampling, including blood loss, pain, infection risk, and delayed detection of critical changes in the NICU.